[Almost daily there is more alarming new evidence of the significant growth in CO2 emissions and increased warming raising the probability of global climatic disruption. The latest in depth study from MIT paints a very grim picture where they are project a “median” temperature increase of 5.1C. As many of Obama’s science team point out we are long overdue for some major climatic disruptions that will make the current financial crisis seem like a walk in the park.
So it is indeed welcome news to see real leadership from Washington as details of Obama’s proposed cap and trade start to emerge. The program anticipates $645 billion of permits being issued based at $13 mT CO2e through the period from 2012-2019. Some of this revenue will be used to reduce taxes for low-middle income families and support research into alternate energy initiatives. But the bulk of the revenue will in the trading of permits and purchasing offsets. As yet no details of the workings of the cap and trade system have emerged.
But as has been pointed out many times, the biggest reduction in CO2 emissions can be made not through developing alternate clean energy sources, but in reducing energy consumption (and concomitant CO2 emissions) in variety of industry sectors through the use of ICT and cyber-infrastructure by building smart buildings, smart communities, smart grids, zero carbon computing etc. This has thoroughly documented in the SMART 2020 report – www.smart2020.org.
For that reason alone the bulk of the $625 billion for permits to reduce CO2 should theoretically end up in the pockets of ICT companies rather than alternative energy suppliers. Yet surprisingly few companies in the ICT sector are pursuing such a strategy.
The biggest challenge in capitalizing on the use of ICT to reduce CO2 emissions is the lack of a rigourous documented process for the ICT industry to validate and prove these claims on energy reduction and CO2 abatement. There are many hand waving arguments of energy efficiency and so forth, but most of these claims will not survive rigourous analysis because of lack of understanding all the input and output factors that affect overall contribution of CO2 abatement from ICT such as Jevons paradox etc.
To that end CANARIE, in partnership with the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) is hosting workshop to help develop the necessary carbon inventory and auditing process so that the Canadian ICT industry and research community can understand the processes and procedures to validate claims of reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions and potentially earn offset dollars for themselves or their clients from cap and trade systems like Obama’s initiative.
Tom Baumann, Chair of the IEEE Climate Change Technology Subcommittee and Lead Author of ISO 14064-2 GHG Project Standard will be giving the opening talk on how ICT Industry and research community can utilize GHG Programs, Accounting Protocols and Rules for Generating GHG Revenues. Tom Bauman is also president of the GHG Institute that provides eLearning courses to ICT professionals and others on GHG standards and offset (www.ghginstitute.orh). His presentation is also available at
http://www.slideshare.net/bstarn/climate-check-canarie-workshop-march4
--BSA]
New MIT study on most recent climate forecast data
Probabilistic Forecast for 21st Century Climate Based on Uncertainties in Emissions (without Policy) and Climate Parameters
http://globalchange.mit.edu/pubs/abstract.php?publication_id=990
See also Hadley Center: “Catastrophic” 5-7°C warming by 2100 on current emissions path
http://climateprogress.org/2008/12/21/hadley-study-warns-of-catastrophic-5%C2%B0c-warming-by-2100-on-current-emissions-path/
Details of Obama’s cap and trade are starting to emerge
http://climateprogress.org/2009/02/26/obama-first-sustainable-budget-us-history-clean-energy-cap-and-trade-repeal-fossil-subsidies/
Towards a common carbon currency: Exploring the prospects for integrated global carbon markets
http://www.google.com/urlsa=U&start=1&q=http://www.bnymellon.com/news/commentaries/issuerservices/carbonmarkets.pdf&ei=LQeoSYuVOJaitgfchIXjDw&usg=AFQjCNFKqoZLEL-N6rUbShxYS3WtJm9Xmg
The Bank of New York Mellon’s Office of Innovation has partnered with Point Carbon, a leading worldwide consulting and research firm, to look at and assess today’s rapidly growing carbon markets. Together we explore the future evolution of carbon trading as a means of achieving global environmental goals.
This blog is about using ICTs to develop climate change preparedness solutions built around Energy Internet and autonomous eVehicles
Energy Internet and eVehicles Overview
Governments around the world are wrestling with the challenge of how to prepare society for inevitable climate change. To date most people have been focused on how to reduce Green House Gas emissions, but now there is growing recognition that regardless of what we do to mitigate against climate change the planet is going to be significantly warmer in the coming years with all the attendant problems of more frequent droughts, flooding, sever storms, etc. As such we need to invest in solutions that provide a more robust and resilient infrastructure to withstand this environmental onslaught especially for our electrical and telecommunications systems and at the same time reduce our carbon footprint.
Using autonomous eVehicles for Renewable Energy Transportation and Distribution: http://goo.gl/bXO6x and http://goo.gl/UDz37
Free High Speed Internet to the Home or School Integrated with solar roof top: http://goo.gl/wGjVG
High level architecture of Internet Networks to survive Climate Change: https://goo.gl/24SiUP
Architecture and routing protocols for Energy Internet: http://goo.gl/niWy1g
How to use Green Bond Funds to underwrite costs of new network and energy infrastructure: https://goo.gl/74Bptd